Til oktobernummeret av Q magazine i 1999 sa Strummer: I realised that I was a phoney. I realised that I didn’t care about anything in the whole universe except for the fact: that Tony Adams should be captain for the England football team. I am a Chelsea fan, have been since about 1971 or so. But when I look at him there’s something great about the man. When you’re watching a team on the field they also represent your culture, your tribe. Also, not a lot of people know this: he plays the piano. A lot better than me for instance, although that wouldn’t make much. What I am saying is that he’s remarkable and shouldn’t be taken for granted.

England is used to worship a brand new band every now and then and throw them away into the ten following minutes. That’ s a vicious behaviour but symptomatic of one certain illness which corrupts the UK. I’ ve written one song about that which is called “Tony Adams” : No one in this f*****g country rose up when he was denied the England armband, whilst he was winning his own fight against alcoholism. People might imagine footy is mundane, sometimes mundane stuff are important. We need people like Tony Adams. At the opposite, England is used to get rid of these kind of people, that’ s disgusting, fortalte han franske Télérama.